The Newsletter of Issue No 15 Oxley Christian College 11 October 2018 From the Principal Dear Friends, He made us, we belong to Him; we are His people. Give thanks and praise as you enter His courts, and We warmly welcome you to the final school term for bless His Holy Name. 2018 and especially the students who have just joined For the Lord is good, His faithful love lasts forever, the College. Congratulations to families on making it across all generations to this point on the school calendar. We look forward to the celebration of student achievements in view of It is constant from age to age. another wonderful year and the final weeks for our Year 12 cohort. We wish students well in their peparation for Such knowledge is life-changing when we understand we final exams. Routine events will kick off these first weeks are the people God has made, and therefore the people of Term 4 with the Year 9 into 10 Information Evening, who should respond to Him. God wants us to know that the VCE Arts Festival, a number of Soiree evenings and no matter what happens in our time, no matter what Year 12 Valedictory Dinner. We look forward to welcoming happened before we were born, no matter what happens parents and friends at these evening events. after we die, His love and our belonging is across all generations. Therefore, we should have the courage to At our first assembly of the Senior School this week, we be the leaders He has prepared us to become. Our hope introduced and prayed for the student leaders selected is that Oxley students will know the presence and love for 2019. Recently, Senior students voted for various of God in tangible ways, and will intentionally cooperate Leaders and House Captains. Pastor Matt, along with with God’s agendas within the community of God’s Mr Whittle, Miss Hogan and Mr Kotzé were involved in a people over a lifetime. subsequent interview process over the last few weeks of last term. College Captains and Vice Captains are yet to We take the opportunity to alert families of the need to be decided and those appointments will be made known maintain high standards of student presentation in this at Presentation Evening, as is our normal tradition. I term. I refer to how the College uniform is worn and congratulate the students on their appointments and our ongoing requirements for a neat presentation with look forward to their contribution to College life over the appropriate haircuts, general appearance and behaviour. next 12 months. We will be discussing these matters with Senior students, along with other matters we are obliged by law to raise I shared with our Senior School leaders, Psalm 100 of with 18 year olds. This latter focus is on the mandatory King David that reads something like this: reporting obligations adults have for various types of abuse. If this is of concern to parents, please contact me Acclaim Yahweh, praise God all people of the earth at the College. Worship Him, and come into His presence with Christian blessings, gratitude and joy. Be sure you know that the Lord is God Douglas Peck immediate family. Whilst naturally I fell into a state of Devotions sadness and anger, I made a commitment then, to pursue happiness. And for me, that started with me In Pursuit of Happiness telling myself “I am happy”. Exercising this thought every day, I can take pleasure in everything I do. I For some, being happy is such a difficult state of mind always try to have fun and find enjoyment in everything to reach. I know for those of us currently in Year 12, I do. With this I can truly say I’m happy with who I am, with all the stress and emotional moments in the where I am and where I will go. lead up to our exams, being happy is not exactly in the forefront of our minds. This may be the case with many other people. The modern world has so many “Happiness is a decision” distractions and everyone is so busy, which can lead to Mentally, we need to set up positive habits. We need many obstacles being placed in our way. These can be to regularly take joy and be grateful. So, what is being rather detrimental to our mental health. In a day and happy? Being happy is consistently doing the right age where mental health is becoming more and more things for our minds. Choosing to be happy, the results of a focus, how can we ensure we are as happy as we ALWAYS lead to us actually being happy. can be? What we may miss however, is the need to exercise We’ve all heard that exercise leads to endorphins our spirit and relationship with God. In Psalm 114:15 it being released in our brains which give us a happy is described, Happy are the people whose God is the feeling. So naturally, we exercise our bodies to feel Lord. Jesus tells us, amidst all circumstances, to always healthy and happy. And the rewards are there for all live happily. (NIV) says: to see. However, this unfortunately doesn’t always last. Phillipians 2:17-18 Not only do we need to exercise physically, to reach a But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering state of happiness, we also need to exercise our mind on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I and our spirit. am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should “Not only do we need to exercise be glad and rejoice with me. physically, to reach a state of To be ‘glad and rejoice’ is to be happy and joyful. We’re told to keep our relationship with God in fruition, to happiness we need to exercise our keep seeking His presence, His spirit. What we can be assured of is, no matter the turmoil or adversity we’re mind and our spirit” in, we are able to have full faith and trust that our happiness will come from God, the provider of true, It starts from the moment we wake up. Being happy sustainable happiness. Like all things good, happiness starts with you. Being happy is to feel or show pleasure is dependent upon our relationship with God. As such, or contentment. To be content with where you are, who we are reminded of the importance to exercise our you are, to take pleasure in everything you do, but for bodies, mind and spirit – to keep faith and relationship this to last, we have to exercise this thought. We have with God. to start lifting the mental weights and throwing them away. Happiness is a decision. One we have to make I’d like to encourage you all to keep running with God, ourselves. to seek joy in life and to know happiness. I myself have been through many rough moments in Liam Ting my life, most significantly being separated from my Year 12 College Captain 2 Senior School Welcome back to school for the final term of 2018! Year 11s have hopefully returned after a sensational Night at the Oscars. This truly memorable event featured a host of local artists, some very experienced and some performing publicly for the first time. Singing, instrumentals, and even a comedy act entertained the close-knit crowd. Food and ambience were excellent, and the outfits which adorned the red carpet were simply outstanding. The conclusion of the evening featured a large number of students breaking out into dance moves, displaying an amazing amount of youthful exuberance and energy as the hour grew late. Thank you to Mrs Doblin, the Organising Committee and all performers for a truly delightful evening from start to finish. During Term 3, over 1,500 Parent Teacher interviews occurred over two evenings, which were an excellent opportunity to check progress and, if necessary, realign all members of the learning partnership. Thank you to all parents and students who were able to attend the night and discuss education and other matters. This is an important event in our school calendar but I would also encourage all families to communicate with us as a staff at any time if there are issues which need discussion, as we regard our approachability as a hallmark of our commitment to you. Year 12s were welcomed back to school early as most attended practice examinations during the second week of the term break. We trust this provided each student with invaluable feedback on progress, areas mastered and areas to revise in the weeks ahead. An enormous thank you to teachers for setting, marking and providing feedback in an extremely short turnaround time – it is greatly appreciated by all. A thank you to all parents who have played a variety of roles including timekeeper, chauffeur, and counsellor for encouraging and assisting each student to achieve their best. A thank you also to the students who have made the most of this offering by studying hard, completing the examination and reviewing the feedback. Please know that hard work reaps its own benefits in terms of results, and also in the character that you are developing. During Assembly recently, it was mentioned how we can lean upon our parents, friends, teachers and God in times of need. Please remember that even when undertaking your examinations you are never alone. God is right beside you, along with our continued prayers, support and best wishes. Joshua is told in Joshua 1:9 of this truth and I believe it to be as relevant now for each of us as it was for him over 3,000 years ago.